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During The Game Awards, Sega announced that they were set to revive many classic franchises including Crazy Taxi, Streets of Rage, and Jet Set. Since then, Sega has remained relatively silent regarding these new games, although they did showcase the upcoming Sonic X Shadow Generations game during Summer Games Fest. Now, we finally have a first look at the upcoming Crazy Taxi reboot.
In an interview on the official Sega YouTube channel, Sega Producer Kenji Kanno revealed that the next Crazy Taxi game will be an open-world MMO, in a similar vein to games such as Forza Horizon 5.
NOTE: All of the quotes throughout this article have been translated online and may not be 100% accurate.
“We are currently working on a completely new “Crazy Taxi” as a brand-new creation. We aim to provide content that offers thrilling experiences and excitement in various driving scenarios. Not only for solo play, but also for enjoyable play with multiple people,” he said. This will mark the first new console entry in the Crazy Taxi series, with the last being 2002’s Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller. Since then, there were two handheld entries released in 2003 and 2007 on the Gameboy Advance and PSP, before two mobile entries launched in 2014 and 2017, with neither being downloadable from the app stores today.
When speaking on the multiplayer aspect of the upcoming Crazy Taxi game, Kanno said “Previously, Crazy Taxi was mainly a solo game, but now we are also considering multiplayer modes. Since it involves multiplayer, we might include new elements related to networking or new gimmicks.”
The ‘Action Team’ then detailed some of the gameplay elements that we can expect to see saying,
“Previously, Crazy Taxi was mainly a solo game, but now we are also considering multiplayer modes. Since it involves multiplayer, we might include new elements related to networking or new gimmicks. In terms of gameplay, Crazy Tax” features chaotic movements like jumping, stopping abruptly, and drifting. We are thinking about adding even more fun elements to this.”
The interview then moved to the ‘Level Design Team’ who spoke on the process behind creating the landscape that players will be able to explore as they drive customers to their destinations, which seems to be based on the West Coast of the United States,
“The best part is the freedom to drive around the city, knocking down various things and entering areas you normally shouldn’t. This freedom makes it incredibly fun. We aim to create terrains where you can experience this exhilarating driving while also maintaining a realistic city feel. The realism of the city enhances the thrill and chaotic fun of free driving. We focus on this balance in level design. In the new game, we want players to enjoy various activities and driving styles, communicating freely in a theme-park-like map. We are researching and designing such environments.”
Finally, the ‘Art Team’ shared the process behind creating the characters and vehicles that will be in the game,
“We visit real locations for research to ensure the game is realistic yet suitable for gameplay. For example, the color of stones mined from a quarry may be reflected in the buildings. By visiting these places and seeing them with our own eyes, we can reflect these details in the game, enhancing its quality. Our environment allows both young and experienced members to voice their opinions. Ideas from younger members are often used to improve workflow and efficiency, creating an open and communicative atmosphere.
Crazy Taxi is more action-oriented than typical car games. We think, create, test, and improve together as a team, aiming to make something great. We aim to create a vibrant, happy, and energetic visual world where the iconic yellow taxi stands out against the bright backdrop of the West Coast’s blue sky, white clouds, and green plants. We consider various aspects like character preferences, hobbies, favorite music, and lifestyles to design characters that feel real and fashionable in the current era. Our car designs focus on making people genuinely want to drive them. We aim to create surprising and interesting ideas that make people think, “I didn’t expect this.”
Crazy Taxi is still in its early stages and looks like it will still be a long way off before we get to jump into the latest entry in the series. Incorporating multiplayer aspects feels like a fun and natural evolution of the series. The video also revealed that Crazy Taxi is being developed in Unreal Engine 5. The first entry was a game I had a lot of fun with back in the early 2000s so this will be one that I will be keeping my eye on throughout development.
Sega is also recruiting for various positions to work on Crazy Taxi, including game designers, level designers, modelers, and programmers. You can check out the recruitment page here, although all positions are based in Japan.
You can also watch the full video below, the interview is in Japanese but it does feature snippets of gameplay footage as well as a look at some of the early artwork for the game.
